Yemisi Izuora
Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN, has called for the full deregulation of the petroleum downstream sector and full implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
The Association declared that PIA implementation clearly remains the most viable long-term solution to the country’s supply and distribution challenges, as it expressed concerns that given the current state of government finances and unpredictable international supply shortages, the lingering petrol queues may not vanish.
In a virtual conference with the media, chairman of the Association Olumide Adeosun
attributed the current petrol queues spreading around the country to supply disruption from the Petroleum Products Marketing Company, PPMC in the last few weeks.
Adeosun, also blamed the situation to distribution challenges created by the unavailability and continuous surge in international prices of Automotive Gas Oil (diesel).
He expressed fears that the current supply framework and government finances cannot guarantee steady and consistent supplies to the country
To resolve all these MOMAN, thus recommended a gradual price deregulation with targeted palliatives (eg. transport and agricultural subsidies) to the public to ease implementation.
However, in the interim, the Association recommended that the current single supplier strategy be reviewed, and that the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, in collaboration with the Ministry of
Finance and other relevant MDAs, should set up a taskforce to immediately focus
on increasing diesel supply through accelerated initiatives to increase local
modular refining capacity.
This move will tackle the supply and distribution challenges, he said.
Adeosun also said the MOMAN had recommended a phased rehabilitation of existing NNPC refineries to hasten supply of middle distillates (AGO & ATK).
He said MOMAN recognizes and closely associates with the need to ease challenges with respect to high energy and transportation costs occasioned by extraneous circumstances.
Also he assured that MOMAN shall continually do its best to distribute petrol to its customers across the country and keep exploring opportunities to partner with industry stakeholders but urged the Authority, and the Government to ensure the sustainability and institutionalization of a viable petroleum downstream sector in Nigeria.
While empathising with its customers as the nation grapple with recurrent scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) in various
parts of the Country, Adeosun, disclosed that the gap was noticed in April when Lagos Jerry was supplied with 438,000 metric tons, MT, of petrol and down to 213,100 MT, and as at 20th of June it went down to 140,000MT.
He said that MOMAN members are working with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC/PPMC, NARTO and other
industry stakeholders to make the product (petrol) available at the pumps and eliminate the queues as quickly as possible.
Adeosun, however disclosed that 64,000 MT of products are being discharged in Lagos curently but marketers require consistent back to back product supply to end the crises.
